Knee protector



March 10, 19 31. R c, BASSETT 1,796,234

KNEE PROTECTOR Filed Oct. 11, 1930 Patented Mar. 1 1931 i Burns 0. BAssErr, or Bun-instrumen Texas.

KNEE rno'rno'ron;

' Application filed October 11, 1930: Serial'No; 488,139.

'This invention relates to a knee protector and is designed more especially as an improvement upon the structure described in Patent No. 1,131,816, issued to me on March 5 16,1915.

7 One of the objects of the invention is to provide a device for attachment to the knee of a person whose occupation requires a kneeling posture, said device being so constructed as to afford a comfortable support which will not rule the clothing to an undesirable extent. I A further object is to provide an attachment of this character which is cheap to manufacture, can be applied readily, and adapts itself freely to the various positions of the supported knee. I

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment'of the invention herein disclosed, maybe made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

f in the accompanying drawing, the pre ferr'ed form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing: f Figure 1 is a side elevation of the protector, the position of a knee therein being indicated by broken lines.

Figure 2 is a plan View. Figure 3 is a rear elevation. Referring to the figures by characters of 7 reference, 1 designates the foot of the device formed preferably of sheet metal out in arcuate form and has its front edge portion bent to upwardly as shown at 2 to constitute a deflector.

Extending upwardly from the sides of the foot are integral standards 3 from the upper ends of which can be struck hooks 4 or other as suitable attaching means.

-Loosely supported between the standards 3 is a yoke 5 formed of a strip of sheet metal or the like which is much wider than the standards 3. The lower or crown portion of this yoke constitutes a saddle for supportwill be apparent that said yoke will be yieldingly supported at both sides. Furthermore, as the yoke is connected to the standards 3 solely by the upwardly converging springs and these springs extend past and clear of the edges of standards 3, the yoke, while normally positioned as shown in Figure 1 relative to the standards 3, will nevertheless be free to move downwardly, forwardly and rearwardly to assume any desired angle or position relative to the standards in order to adapt itself to the angle of the engaged portion of the sup-' ported knee. This is due to the floating connection provided by the springs.

The yoke can be provided with a pad 9 I of felt or any other suitable material so as to insure comfort to the user. For the purpose of attaching the yoke to the leg, a flexible cross member 10 can be connected to the upper end portions of the yoke at the forward edges thereof while additional flexible connections 11 can be secured to the rear edge portions of the yoke. These connections 10 and 11 can be made of strong cord or of straps and, if preferred, the connections 11 can be made up of interfitting loops as shown so as to rest comfortably back of the knee when the leg is bent while kneeling, as shown in Figure 1.

In practice the yoke is fastened securely to the leg at or slightly below the kneecap by drawing the connections 10 and 11 tightly across the front and back of the leg respectively. This location of the attachment Will not interfere with walking. During the act of kneeling the foot 1 will come into contact with the ground or other supporting surface and the springs 8 will be placed under tension so as to support the weight and provide a cushion for the knee.

What is claimed is: A knee protector including. a foot side 7 standards thereon, a yoke interposed between I and spaced from the standards means for attaching the yoke to the knee, and springs constituting the sole connection between the yoke and the standards said springs being arranged in pairs, the springs of each pair diverging downwardly from the upper por-f 10 tion of one standard to the front and rear [portions respectively of the yoke; In testimony that I claim the foregoingas my own I have hereto affixed my signature V RUFUS o. BAssn n 1 

